Death and Dreams
by iwant2believe13
Summary: When a dark spirit is causing Melinda to lose her mind, it's up to her loved ones to help her. Can anyone save her before it's too late?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: I don't mean to make any copyright infringements through the publication of this story. I don't own Ghost Whisperer, the characters, or the prologue that follows this note. I'm simply a hard-core fan writing my own episode. As of now, it's still a work in progress. Please read and review. Most importantly, enjoy!**

* * *

_My name is Melinda Gordon. I'm married, I live in a small town, and I own an antique shop. I might be just like you, except that from the time I was a little girl I knew that I can talk to the dead. Earthbound spirits, my grandmother called them. They're stuck here because they have unfinished business with the living, and they come to me for help. In order to tell you my story, I have to tell you theirs._

* * *

Melinda was just about to close her store for the night when a strange feeling washed over her. She was overwhelmed by feelings of extreme sadness and anxiety. Standing in the empty shop behind the counter, she glanced around; her eyes sweeping over the antique furniture, jewelry, and dolls. No one was there. Her feelings were intense, though, and she only feels this way in the presence of spirits. She continued to look around when the lights flickered off. Feeling more anxious every second, she called out,

"Hello? Is anyone there?" The store was growing bone-chillingly cold. Melinda grabbed her purse and keys and hurried to the door. As she was stepping outside, she just missed hearing the gloomy whisper: "Soon… You'll see…"

* * *

Melinda felt much better after leaving the store, but she still couldn't shake the feelings she was having. It was unlike her to be depressed for no reason, yet she felt so much emotional pain it was as if her chest could explode. _I'll be okay,_ she thought, _there's nothing to be sad about. I'm just gonna go home, have a glass of wine, and let Jim cheer me up. Everything's gonna be fine._

She pulled up to her house, turned off the car, and made her way to the door. She stopped on the front porch to take a few deep breaths, _I don't want Jim to see how upset I am. Just breathe, everything's okay. Just breathe… _She opened the door and walked in. The house was warm, and the scent of garlic and tomatoes was floating through the air. Her mood instantly improved a bit as she followed the sound of clattering dishes and utensils. Jim was cooking at the stove. She walked into the kitchen, snuck up behind her pre-occupied husband, and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Hey!" Jim greeted her, turning around in her embrace and returning the gesture. "You're about to experience the best chicken parmesan this side of the Atlantic!" he cheerfully declared before giving her a soft kiss on the lips. He noticed her despondent expression. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Mel pulled slightly away from him, taking his hands in hers. She forced a less-than-convincing smile. "Nothing. I'm just really tired."

"You sure?"

"Yes. I'm okay…" She said weakly. She could see the concern in Jim's eyes; she knew that he didn't believe her, but she didn't feel up to talking about her unexplainable feelings right now.

Jim turned back to his cooking, still holding one of Mel's hands. He pulled her in close and put his arm around her. "Why don't you pour us some wine. Dinner will be ready in a minute, it'll make you feel better." He said, kissing the top of her head.

"Alright," she said, walking over to the wine cooler. "How was your day?" she asked as she poured some red wine into two glasses.

"Good. Rode around in the ambulance, saved a few lives… The usual."

"My hero," she crooned, grinning as she set the glasses on the kitchen table and sat down.

"How was yours?" He asked, scooping chicken and pasta onto two plates and placing it on the table. "Meet anyone interesting?"

Mel was reminded of her feelings when she closed the store. She tried to suppress a shiver, but failed. "No. Just a quiet day." She told him, trying to keep her voice light. She wasn't exactly lying… She hadn't spoken to any ghosts all day; she hadn't even sensed any until she was getting ready to leave. Now, the depression and anxiety seemed to be creeping back. Jim sat across from her, and they began to eat.

"Uh-huh." Jim said, "Why do I get the feeling there's something you're not telling me?" He tried to make eye contact, but she was avoiding it. He knew for sure something was wrong.

"I don't know. There's really nothing to tell." She took a gulp of her red wine, followed by a bite of chicken. "Mmm… You're right, this is the best."

Jim was about to rebuke her for changing the subject, but he decided against it. She would talk to him when she was ready. "Told you. It's an old recipe of my grandfather's. Full-blooded Italian."

"Really," Mel asked "I never would have thought."

"Why not? I am so hard-core Italian."

"Alright, Fabio. Whatever you say." she laughed.

Melinda and Jim finished dinner without any more mention of Mel's uncharacteristic behavior. Melinda decided to go to bed early; she was unusually tired. She was out like a light by 10:30. It wasn't until 3:00 AM that bad dreams started plaguing her sleep.

* * *

_They were arguing. She watched from a distance. Jim and herself stood in the deserted street in front of her store. Their voices were muted, she couldn't make out what they were saying. Jim was waving his arms wildly at her; gesturing in frustration. She was shaking her head. She looked frightened, desperate. She grabbed for his hands, but he pushed her away. Then he turned and left. She fell to her knees, sobbing, screaming…._

"NOOO!!" She bolted upright. She couldn't breathe. No matter how hard she tried to breathe in, she couldn't. She was suffocating. She barely registered Jim's presence. He sat facing her, with one hand bracing her back, the other holding her hand.

"Mel! Breathe. Come on. Breathe in." She was clutching at her chest. She looked terrified. "Mel? Baby, look at me. You've gotta breathe."

"I…. can't…." she managed to choke out. Her eyes started to roll back as she began to slump forward; Jim put his hands on her shoulders to support her and keep her upright. She was blacking out. All she could hear was the blood thundering in her ears and Jim's muffled voice.

"No! Mel, don't pass out. Look at me." He looked into Melinda's glazed eyes. She was pale and shaking. Her breaths were coming out in short shallow gasps. He knew they had to get her breathing under control fast, or she would pass out for sure.

Melinda struggled to make out Jim's face beyond the black spots clouding her vision. He looked frantic.

"Just focus on me." He said soothingly, "Breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth. Come on… In through the nose…. Out through the mouth. Slow breaths."

Melinda's breathing began to deepen. Her vision was clearing, and she could hear Jim's voice clearly again.

"You're doing good, just keep breathing."

Almost fully recovered, Mel broke down in tears. She was crying hysterically; her whole body shook with her sobs. Jim took her into his arms, and stroked her hair.

"You're okay," he whispered. "You're okay. Shhh…"

Mel continued to sob. She hugged Jim tightly as he tried to comfort her. "Everything's alright," he said, holding her and rubbing her back. After a minute, her crying slowed down. She was no longer sobbing, but tears still streamed down her face, and she sniffled and hiccupped with emotion. Jim pulled back so he could look at her.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

Mel could only nod her head. She was still somewhat short of breath. She wasn't sure if she really was alright, but she didn't know how to tell him so.

"What happened?" He said, holding her hands as he looked deeply into her tear-filled eyes.

"I… don't…. know." she whispered, hyperventilating slightly. "I… had a dream."

Jim nodded and waited for her to tell him more.

"We were fighting. I couldn't hear what we were saying, but…. You left me." she said, her voice breaking. "you left me…" she whispered again.

Jim took Melinda in his arms again. Holding her close, he quietly said, "Mel. You know I would never leave you. Don't you?"

Mel's voice was muffled against Jim's shoulder, "I think so… it was just so real. It hurt so much."

Jim's hand was on the back of her head, the other stroked her back. "I love you more than anything. I could never walk away from you. You're my whole world." He kissed her head. It broke his heart to see her in so much pain. He couldn't understand what was making her think this way all of a sudden. He prayed that she would believe what he was telling her.

Melinda slowly pulled away from Jim. She grabbed a handful of Kleenex from her nightstand and dabbed at her eyes and nose. Her crying had finally stopped, although the sadness still remained. _What is happening to me? Am I losing it? _she thought. She knew Jim would never leave her, but in the back of her mind she couldn't help but wonder if someday her gift would prove to be too much for their relationship. If she ever lost him, she would die. She looked at Jim, trying to keep her composure.

"I don't know what I'd ever do without you.' she told him. "I couldn't live…"

Jim touched her face, softly wiping away a remaining tear. "You don't need to think about that. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."

Melinda leaned in and their lips met in a tender but passionate kiss. They wrapped their arms around each other; Mel clung to Jim. It wasn't long before they laid down and drifted back to sleep in each others' arms.

* * *

The next morning Melinda woke up alone in bed. She could hear Jim moving around downstairs, but she decided to stay in bed for a while longer. She was still feeling the same depression that had come over her yesterday. She felt lost, alone, and scared. _What am I gonna do? I can't keep feeling this way, there's no reason to. I can't let Jim worry about me… He won't understand what's wrong. I don't even understand what's wrong._ She felt as if she was going to start crying again, but she forced herself to stay calm. She looked at the clock on her nightstand; it was 7:45. _I don't think I'll make it to work today. I can't deal with people when I'm feeling this way. It's just one day… I'll just stay home._ She got up, put on her light blue satin robe, and headed to the bathroom. She really didn't want to get out of bed, but she knew it would only worry Jim even more if she didn't get up. She looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. She looked pale, and dark purple circles stuck out on the skin beneath her eyes. _Great, I look like I'm dying._ She grabbed a glass off the edge of the sink, drank some water, and took another quick glance in the mirror before heading downstairs.

Mel walked into the kitchen where Jim was sitting at the table in his paramedic uniform reading the newspaper. There was a plate of scrambled eggs, two pieces of toast, and two strips of bacon sitting in front of him. He looked up at her and smiled,

"Good morning. I made breakfast." He said. He noticed that she didn't look well, but he didn't dare mention it to her. He hoped she was doing better this morning than she was last night.

"Thanks, looks good." Melinda said wearily. She grabbed a plate, scooped up a spoonful of eggs out of the skillet on the stove, took a piece of toast, and sat down at the table. She pushed the eggs around with her fork, lost in thought.

Jim watched her closely. "How you feeling?" he asked.

She looked at him blankly for a moment before answering, "Fine. A little tired, I guess."

"Doesn't surprise me." Jim said. "Do you want to talk about what happened last night?"

Melinda looked down at her plate, and rested the fork beside it. She put her hands in her lap. "I thought we already did. I had a bad dream, that's all."

"That's not all. Mel, you had a full-blown panic attack. You almost passed out. You were acting strange even before bed last night. Something's bothering you, I can tell. Why won't you talk to me?"

Mel looked at Jim. There were tears forming behind her eyes. She looked so small and vulnerable. "I don't know what's wrong." she said quietly. "I feel… like everything's wrong. I don't know why. I just feel defeated." She sighed, and wiped a single tear from her eye before it had a chance to fall.

Jim listened patiently. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"I don't know. It just started yesterday. I feel like there's no point in doing anything right now. No point in waking up, even."

Jim was getting really worried. He'd never seen Melinda like this before. He was afraid for her; afraid that her thoughts might be even darker than she was letting on.

"Mel… You know that's not true. You help so many people, every day. I've never met anyone more caring than you. You can't really think that that's all pointless."

"Do I help them, though?" She asked. "Or do I just get in the way? I mean, so many people live their lives perfectly content in not knowing that there are earthbound spirits among us. Who am I to interfere? Sometimes I think they'd all just be better off without me." _Where is this coming from? _Mel thought. _I've never thought this way before. What's happening to me?_

Jim was unsure of what to do. She was sounding so hopeless, so disheartened. He knew that what she did mattered, but how could he convince her right now when she's so obviously thinking the opposite?

"What about all the spirits you've helped cross over?" Jim pointed out. "You think that they'd be better off? You helped those people. If it weren't for you, they'd be stuck here. And you've given their families and loved ones the kind of closure that they needed. Those people need you, Mel. You save them."

She felt better for a moment. _Maybe Jim's right. I'm being stupid. I probably just need a day off to rest. I've been working too much lately, it must be taking a toll on me mentally._

Jim looked at Mel, who was deep in thought, wondering if what he said had stuck. "Mel?" He said, getting her attention.

Mel reached across the table and grabbed Jim's hand. "I love you." she said.

"I love you too. But I hate seeing you like this. You're too great of a person to get down on yourself."

Mel smiled for the first time that day. "I'll be okay." she told him. "I think I'm gonna take the day off, though, to recuperate." She looked down for a moment. "I think I need to figure some things out."

"That sounds like a good idea. You want me to stay home with you?" Jim asked.

"No, it's okay. You go to work. I think I need some time alone."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'm sure."

Jim was nervous about leaving her alone while she was so depressed, but he knew that she'd probably be fine. A day off would do her good. He stood up from the table, took his plate to the sink, and walked back over to where Mel was sitting. He kneeled down beside her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"I want you to promise me that you'll call me if you need anything." He said.

Melinda nodded, "I promise."

"Okay." Jim said before giving her a kiss. "I'm gonna call and check up on you every few hours, so you better answer the phone or I'll worry."

Mel laughed, "You worry too much. I'll be fine. Now go, you'll be late."

They shared another kiss before Jim stood up, grabbed his bag, and walked out the door. Melinda watched him go, and took a deep breath. _I hope I'll be fine._

* * *

After Jim left, Melinda ate a few bites of her now-cold breakfast and scraped the rest into the garbage disposal. She called Delia on her cell phone to let her know she wouldn't be in today.

"Hello!" Delia's cheery voice answered.

"Hey." Melinda said, sounding less happy than she meant to.

"What's wrong?" Delia asked worriedly.

"Nothing." Mel said, trying to brighten her tone a bit. "Well, except… I wanted to let you know that I won't be in today. I'm not feeling well and…. Do you think you'll be alright on your own?"

Delia was surprised, Melinda never missed work. She hoped everything was okay. "Yeah, I'll be good. Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah." Melinda said. "I just need a day to rest. But feel free to call me if you need to."

"Okay. I will." Delia said. "I hope you feel better."

"Thanks, Delia. Bye."

"Bye."

After getting off the phone, Melinda decided to go back to bed for a while, but again her sleep was troubled…

_Melinda was walking through a desolate field of pale gray grass. The sky was dark, and she was alone. "Hello?" she cried out, but heard nothing but the wind. She began running. She ran through the tall grass, her white nightgown flowing with the breeze. Lightning illuminated the charcoal clouds. She tripped and fell to the ground. When she looked up, a figure in a maroon hooded cloak stood over her. "Who are you? What do you want?" Melinda asked. The figure remained silent. Melinda shakily stood up. "Talk to me! What do you want?" The figure answered her in a low raspy voice, "He will leave you…" Melinda felt weakened by the spirit's energy, but she still pressed further. "Who?" she demanded. "Who will leave me?" The figure responded, "He will leave you. Everyone will go until no one remains." Melinda blinked back tears. "I don't know what you're talking about." she said." The spirit disappeared and reappeared behind her. Melinda spun around to face it. "You're burden is too heavy to share." The figure said, "As the weight grows, you will find yourself alone." And with that, the spirit disappeared. Melinda was alone in the field again. She heard a sound from far away. She ran towards it. The further she ran, the louder it became. It was a shrill, high-pitched noise. She kept running…._

Melinda's eyes flew open. The phone was ringing. She sat up and answered it,

"Hello?" she said breathlessly.

"Mel?" said Jim. "Are you okay?"

Melinda let out a long breath. "Yeah… I was asleep. Sorry."

Jim paused for a moment. He heard her voice when she answered; she didn't sound sleepy, she sounded frightened. He shrugged it off. "Sorry to wake you, I just wanted to check in and make sure you were alright."

Melinda's heart was pounding, but she knew if she told Jim about her dream he would leave work to be with her. She didn't want to burden him. _You're burden is too heavy to share…. _The voice from her dream echoed in her head. She tried to chase the thought out of her mind.

"Mel?" Jim said over the phone. "Are you there?"

"Yeah." she responded. "Sorry. I'm okay. Thanks for calling."

"You sure you're okay?" he asked.

"Positive." She lied. "What time do you get off work?"

"5:00"

Mel looked at the clock. It was 2:03. _Did I really sleep for five hours? _"Okay. I'll see you when you get home." she said.

Jim hoped that she would be safe in the meantime. "I love you." he said.

"I love you too. Bye."

"Bye."

Melinda thought about her dream. _Why is this happening? _She thought. _What does it mean? What if the spirit is telling the truth?_ She couldn't think anymore about it right now, she was too tired. For some reason, the more she slept, the more exhausted she became. _I'll just rest for a little while longer_. She thought as she dozed off.

* * *

_She was in the street outside of her store again. No one was around, except for Jim, who looked upset. It was the same as before, except this time she could hear their voices._

"_I just can't do this anymore, Mel." Jim said, gesturing madly. "It's too much. I can't sit back and watch this destroy you. You're just too damn stubborn to know when to back away. It's not just hurting you anymore. It's hurting everyone around you."_

_Melinda yelled back at him, "What do you want me to do, Jim? This is who I am. I was born into this, it's never gonna change. I need to help these people. I don't have a choice."_

"_You have a choice." Jim calmly stated. "I just don't understand why you don't choose to walk away."_

"_I can't just walk away." she said._

_Jim looked at her with hurt in his eyes. "Well I can." he said. "You don't leave me much of a choice anymore." He began to back away._

_Melinda grabbed for his hands, "Jim, wait… Please…."_

_He pushed her hands away, turned around, and walked off, leaving her alone. She fell to her knees, crying, screaming…._

"Jim." Melinda cried out, sitting upright in bed. She was covered in sweat, yet she was cold and shivering. She hugged her knees to her chest, put her head down and cried.

* * *

Jim came home at 4:30. There wasn't much happening today, and he was so worried about Melinda he decided to leave a half an hour early. He walked through the front door, put his bag down, and called out,

"Mel? I'm home."

He didn't hear an answer. He checked the kitchen and the living room, but there was no sign of her, so he figured she was upstairs. He walked up the stairs and went into the bedroom. Melinda was sitting in bed with her head resting on her knees; she was crying. Jim hurried over to her.

"Mel…" he said. She didn't respond. She didn't seem to even hear him. He sat beside her on the bed, and touched her arm. "Mel, talk to me."

Melinda lifted her head to look at him. Her face was soaked with tears, her eyes were red-rimmed. She reached out to him, and he wrapped her in a hug.

"You're freezing" he said, pulling the covers over her. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"I think I'm losing my mind." Mel whimpered.

For a few minutes Jim simply held Melinda as she cried. Neither of them said a word. When she was calm, Jim was the first to speak.

"What's going on?" he asked her, "I need you to tell me everything."

"I really don't know, Jim." she replied faintly. "I… I've been miserably depressed for two days now. I'm exhausted, but I can't even sleep without having terrible dreams. I'm scared… I don't know why I'm feeling this way. But right now I feel like it's never going to end."

"Do you feel sick? I mean, besides being tired." he asked her.

"No."

Jim felt helpless. He didn't understand what could be causing Melinda's problems, so he didn't know what to do to fix it. All he knew was that she couldn't go on like this much longer.

"Maybe both of us should take a few days off work. At least until we get this all sorted out."

Melinda thought back to the message from her dreams. "You can't." she said.

"Yes I can. Listen to me, Mel; you're the most important thing to me. Right now my job is to make sure you're going to be alright."

Melinda stared downward. "My burden is too heavy to share. As the weight grows, I will find myself alone." She murmured almost imperceptibly.

"What?" Jim asked.

Melinda looked at him. "It's what the spirit in my dream said. It said everyone will leave me, because of who I am."

Jim shook his head. "No. It's just a dream. You can't listen to that."

"It means something." she insisted, "I can feel it. Something's going to happen."

"What?" he asked. "What's going to happen?"

"I don't know." she said. "but I've never been wrong about these feelings before."

* * *

After talking some more, Mel reluctantly agreed to let Jim take some time off work to be with her. She called Delia to let her know what was going on.

"Hello." said Delia, answering the phone.

"Hey, Delia, it's me again." Mel said.

"Hey! How are you feeling?" she asked with concern.

"Well actually…. I'm not doing so well. I think I'm going to have to take a few days off, if that's alright." Mel said sheepishly.

"That's fine, do what you need to do. Are you going to be okay? Do you need me to bring you anything?"

"No, but thank you. I just need some time…"

Delia wondered what could be wrong; she'd never known Mel to voluntarily take time off of work. The store was her life. She wanted to ask Melinda what was going on, but she thought it best not to pry. "Take as much time as you need," Delia said, "I'll take care of the store for you. If you need anything at all, please let me know."

"Thanks so much." Mel replied, "The same goes for you."

"Okay." Delia said. "Get better. I'll talk to you soon."

"Definitely. Bye."

"Bye."

Melinda hung up the phone. She felt horrible for leaving Delia to manage the store alone, but she knew that it wouldn't do any good for her to be there. She sat in bed, just thinking for awhile, slightly comforted by the sound of Jim walking around downstairs.

* * *

Jim walked out onto the front porch and sat down. He picked up his cell phone and scrolled through his list of contacts, stopping at the name Payne. He contemplated for a moment whether or not he should make the call, but he decided he had no choice. He hit send.

"Hello?" Rick Payne answered.

"Hey, Professor Payne. It's Jim Clancy."

"What's wrong? Did something happen to Melinda?" Rick asked fearfully.

"Well…" Jim said, "I'm not really sure. Look, I need to make this quick because I don't want her to know I'm calling you. Have you ever heard of a spirit causing someone to feel…. Depressed or anxious?"

"You have a spirit messing with your head?" Rick asked.

"If you want to put it lightly," Jim said, "It's not me. It's Melinda."

"Oh." Rick said, "Well, you're not giving me much to go on here, Jim. She has a ghost that's making her depressed…."

"Not just depressed, Payne." Jim stated harshly, "It's destroying her. I've never seen her like this. She said she's been having nightmares, and it almost seems like every dream is making her worse."

Rick tried to remember if he had ever read anything that might explain Melinda's affliction. "I honestly can't think of anything off the top of my head." Rick said, "But give me some time to look into it and I'll get back to you."

Jim sighed, "Alright. I appreciate it." And with that, Jim hung up the phone. He leaned forward and put his head in his hands. He was so frustrated; he wanted more than anything to just make it all go away, to make her better with the clap of his hands. But he knew that there was little he could do right now. He could only hope that whatever was causing her pain could be defeated somehow. He heard the front door click and creak open. He sat up and turned to see Melinda standing in the doorway.

"Hi.' she said quietly.

"Hi."

Melinda walked over to Jim and sat beside him. "What are you doing out here?" she asked.

"Nothing." Jim said. "Just thinking."

Mel leaned against him and put her head on his shoulder. He put his arm around her. They sat that way for a while, neither one saying anything. Both were lost in their own thoughts. _He's upset. _Mel was thinking. _It's all because of me._

"This spirit," Jim suddenly said, "from your dream. Have you seen it before?"

Melinda thought about it. "No. I don't think so."

'What do you think it wants?" Jim asked.

"I don't know." Mel admitted sadly. She had an idea of what it wanted, but she couldn't tell Jim. _I think it wants me to die._

* * *

That night, things began to get worse. Melinda sleep was restless, and at 4:00 AM she had another dream.

_She found herself in the gray field again. It was bitterly cold and rain was pouring down. She thought she was alone, but as she turned around she saw someone in the distance. She began to walk towards them, then she broke into a run. Getting closer, she realized it was Jim. He was wearing dark gray flannel pants and a white t-shirt. She called out his name, but he didn't look at her. She continued running. Jim saw her approaching. They locked eyes for a moment; then he turned around, and began walking away. "No!" Melinda yelled "Jim! Wait! JIM!" she'd almost caught up to him, when suddenly, he disappeared. Melinda stopped abruptly. She looked around, trying to find him, but he was gone. She was drenched from the rain, and freezing. She sat down and started rocking back and forth, telling herself: "This isn't real. It's just a dream. This isn't real. This isn't real…" A voice behind her whispered, "This is real, Melinda…."_

Jim woke up at 4:05 AM. He turned over in bed and realized Melinda wasn't there. Worried, he got out bed to search for her. The bathroom was empty. He walked down the stairs and went into the kitchen, but she wasn't there either. He checked the living room, but it was also empty. Growing fearful, he walked into the back hallway. He saw Melinda sitting cross-legged on the floor with her hands over her ears, rocking back and forth. In one swift motion he was kneeling on the ground in front of her.

"Mel?' he said, touching her arms. Her eyes were shut tightly. He heard her quietly murmuring something. Leaning in closer, he heard her.

"No. This isn't real." she was saying "This is not real. This is not real."

"Mel!" Jim shouted, lightly shaking her. "Mel, wake up."

Melinda continued rocking and talking to herself. Jim gently took her hands away from her ears.

"Melinda!" He called. She stopped moving, and her eyes slowly opened.

"Jim?" she asked softly. "What happened? Where am I?"

Jim held her hands. "You're in the hallway. I think you were sleepwalking."

Melinda was dazed. She tried to stand up; Jim helped her to her feet. He put his hands on either side of her head, bringing her attention back to him. "Did you have another dream?" he asked.

"Yeah." she said. "But this was worse than before." She thought back to her dream…

_The voice behind her whispered, "This is real, Melinda. There's no way to stop it." Melinda tried to stand, but couldn't. She couldn't move. "What do you want from me?" she asked. The spirit laughed eerily. "I only want what's best." The spirit said. It's voice was low; Melinda couldn't tell whether it was male or female, but the sound of it gave her goosebumps. It continued, "If you remain, all will be lost. Everyone will suffer." "I don't understand" Melinda said. The spirit began to diminish from sight, "You must end it." Melinda was left alone again, sitting in the same spot. There was nowhere for her to go. She heard indecipherable whispers surrounding her. She put her hands over her ears. Again, she began to rock, whispering to herself, "This is not real… This is not real…"_

"What happened?" Jim asked, breaking Melinda's reverie.

Melinda looked away from Jim. It was just too horrible…

"Mel?" Jim prodded.

Melinda's voice was barely above a whisper, "I have to end it."

"What?!" Jim asked. "Mel, please don't…"

Melinda interrupted him, "It's what the spirit told me. He said I must end it."

"End what?" Jim asked; knowing what it meant but refusing to accept it.

Melinda didn't respond. She stepped around Jim and walked into the kitchen, going to the refrigerator for a bottle of water. She felt as if she might break down at any moment, and talking would only unleash the tears. Facing the fridge, she uncapped the bottle and began drinking from it. Jim was right behind her.

"Mel. You can't just ignore this." He said. She continued to face the refrigerator. "Mel, please look at me." Jim put his hand on her shoulder, and lightly turned her towards him. "What does this spirit want you to end?" Jim asked warily.

The tears broke loose from Melinda's eyes. She couldn't keep it in any longer. "My life…" she cried. She leaned against Jim for support as she wept. Jim struggled to keep calm himself. He prayed to God that she wasn't actually considering it. He couldn't live with himself if anything happened to her. He held her tightly, as if his love alone could save her from the darkness that was consuming her. They didn't attempt to go back to sleep.

* * *

The morning was rough on both Melinda and Jim. Jim offered to make breakfast again, but Mel had no desire to eat anything.

"I'm not feeling very well." she said.

"What's wrong?" Jim asked, placing a hand on her forehead.

"It's nothing really, I just have a headache."

"Why don't you try to lay down?" Jim suggested.

"I can't." she said tiredly. "I can't handle another nightmare right now."

"I understand. But you need to sleep, Mel. You're exhausted. Go lay on the couch. I'll be right here in case anything happens. If I see any sign that you're having a bad dream, I'll wake you up."

Mel looked like she was considering it.

"Come on." Jim said, leading her to the couch, "I won't take no for an answer."

She sat down and put her feet up. Jim grabbed her by the ankles, pulled her into a laying position, and propped a pillow under her head.

"Hey!" she protested. Jim held up his index finger, signaling her to wait, and hurried into the kitchen. He returned with two ibuprofens and a glass of water.

"For your headache." he said.

Melinda took the medicine from his hand and swallowed it down with the water. "Thanks. You're too good to me." Jim got down on one knee, brushed a few stray hairs away from Melinda's face, and kissed her on the forehead. Then, he took the light wool throw from the back of the couch and covered her with it.

"Sleep." he ordered. "I'll be right here." He watched Melinda as she drifted to sleep almost instantly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: I appreciate the amazing feedback I've been getting! Here's chapter two… It's a bit shorter than the last one, but you can expect another update this weekend, as this story is consuming my life!**

* * *

After he was sure that Mel was fast asleep, Jim went into the kitchen. He sat down at the table and started up the laptop, hoping to find some information on what was happening to his wife. He checked the time: 11:17 AM. He wondered if and when Professor Payne would be getting back to him. Then, as if by magic, his cell phone rang. He flipped it open, and read the screen: Incoming Call: Payne.

"Speak of the devil…" Jim answered.

"Excuse me?" Rick said, "What are you insinuating?"

"Nothing." Jim muttered. "I was just wondering when I'd hear back from you."

"Well, my friend, I'll have you know that research takes time."

"So you found something?" Jim asked hopefully.

"Well, actually, no…" Rick admitted. "I mean, nothing that we don't already know. Just the obvious: ghosts feed off of human energy, being in the presence of a spirit can affect one's emotions, so on and so forth…"

"Yeah." Jim said. "But that doesn't explain why Melinda's been feeling the way she is constantly. It doesn't explain why it's getting worse."

"Well maybe…" Rick thought aloud, his voice trailing off.

"What?" Jim asked.

"Melinda's been saying for a while now that the spirit world seems to be getting stronger. Maybe that explains why this is happening." Rick said.

'That doesn't help me at all." Jim stated.

"Well, sorry.. I'm working on it. Give me some more time, I'll see if I can't come up with something else."

"That's the thing. I don't know how much time we have left." Jim mumbled, more to himself than to Rick.

"What do you mean?" Rick asked.

"Nothing." Jim said. "Just… call me if you find something."

Jim hung up the phone and slammed it down on the table. He had to figure this out. It was seeming more and more like Melinda's life was in his hands. He searched online databases for anything that might help him, but nothing turned up. He then realized that three hours had passed. He got up and went into the living room to check on Melinda. She was still sleeping soundly. She had barely moved since he'd left her side, hours ago. He sat beside her on the edge of the couch and stroked her head. She looked so peaceful while she slept; it was hard to believe that such terrifying dreams could come to her. Melinda softly groaned and her eyes fluttered open.

"Hey." Jim said.

"Hey." she responded sleepily.

"How did you sleep?" he asked.

Melinda yawned and rubbed her eye. "Good, I think."

"You think?"

"If I had any dreams I don't remember them." she said.

"Good." Jim smiled, patting her hand. "Are you feeling any better?"

She locked fingers with him. "Headache's gone."

Jim nodded. "What about everything else?"

Mel thought about it. _You mean, do I still feel like I'm losing my mind? Do I still feel like my life might be ending? Every time a spirit has come to me in dreams, it has been to warn me of something. Something's going to happen… I know it. I just don't know if I'll survive this time. _She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to clear the thoughts from her mind. Jim knew that her silence wasn't a good sign.

"I guess not." Jim said with disappointment.

Mel sat up a bit and leaned against the back of the couch; Jim moved closer to her, planting kisses on her hand. The gesture almost brought tears to her eyes.

"I'm so scared." she told him.

"Me too." he said. "But we'll figure this out. We'll find a way to make it better. We always do."

* * *

The rest of the day was uneventful. Even that night was unusually peaceful. The next day, though, Melinda awoke feeling notably worse than she had felt all week. She had overpowering feelings of dread and despair and she felt run-down and beaten. Her entire body ached; she hadn't the energy to get out of bed. She laid there for 45 minutes just thinking about things before Jim came up to check on her.

Jim quietly entered the bedroom, unsure if Melinda would be awake yet. She was laying on her side, facing the door, though her eyes were fixed on nothing in particular. She seemed to be lost in thought. Jim sat down beside her.

"Hey." he said. "I wasn't sure if you'd be up."

Melinda said nothing, she simply held his hand, her eyes gazing blankly past him. Jim sensed that things had gotten worse. His forehead creased with concern, he gently squeezed her hand.

"How long have you been awake?" he asked.

Melinda took a moment to absorb the question, and then glanced at the clock. "A while." she said quietly.

Jim was filled with empathy; he felt her pain as if it were his own. He laid down on his side, facing her, her hand never leaving his. He looked deeply into her eyes, wishing he could read her mind.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I don't know." she said truthfully.

Jim waited for her to tell him more, but she didn't. She seemed to be in another world, deep inside her head. He stared at her and after a moment she finally made eye contact. She knew she was going to have to talk to him.

"Everything hurts so much." she told him. "I don't even want to get out of bed. I'm just so tired.'

"Mel…" Jim said, "I'm not going to lie… You're really scaring me here."

"I'm sorry." she whispered.

"Don't be. It's just…" Jim searched for the right words. "This isn't you. I don't think these are really your feelings. I think that maybe this spirit you've been seeing in your dreams is doing this to you. And if that's the case, you need to find a way to stop it."

Melinda took a deep breath. "I don't think I can." she said.

Mel looked at Jim intently. She was so full of love for him; it was the only thing keeping her remotely sane. This spirit was so strong, though. She'd never experienced anything quite like it. She simply didn't have the strength to go up against it.

Jim briefly closed his eyes, he tried to drive away the feeling of panic that was building in the pit of his stomach. He had to think of something; if not to defeat the spirit, he at least needed a way to keep Mel from falling any deeper. Re-opening his eyes, he found that Mel seemed to be dozing off again.

"Mel." he said, re-focusing her awareness on him. "Why don't we go out and do something today. We can grab lunch, maybe see a movie; something to get your mind off of this."

Melinda thought about it. As much as she wanted to, though, she didn't think she had it in her. She didn't think that anything could make her feel better at this point.

"I can't." she told Jim. "I'm sorry, I think I just need to sleep some more. Maybe things will be better when I wake up."

Jim brushed her hair away from eyes. "I'm worried about you, Mel. I don't want you to wallow in this. I'm too afraid of losing you."

Melinda felt her eyes growing heavy, she let them fall shut as she muttered to Jim, "I'm not wallowing…. I'm just tired…."

* * *

Jim was beside himself with worry. He was running out of ideas. As he paced around the kitchen he picked up his cell phone. There was nothing he hated more than having to depend on Rick for information, but it was just about his only option in this situation. The phone rang twice, and then it was answered.

"Hello?" Rick said.

Jim immediately got to the point. Sullenly he said, "She's giving up. Please tell me you've found something."

Rick was silent for a moment. Then, he said… "Well, right now all I have to go on are theories. I don't have any real info to get my hands on."

Jim sighed. "Well, what are your theories?"

"Is it possible she could be possessed?" Rick asked, "Because if so, we may need to perform an exorcism."

Jim hit the kitchen counter with his fist. "Go ahead and joke, Payne, but this is my wife we're talking about." Jim said angrily, his jaw clenching as he spoke, "I asked for your help on this, and so far it hasn't done me a damn bit of good. Now do you really have any theories on this, or are you just wasting my time?"

"I'm sorry." Payne said, "I use humor when I need to cope with bad situations. It's in bad taste, I apologize. Anyway, my main theory as of yet is the one I mentioned before. The spirit world is growing stronger, evil is afoot, etc. I think that maybe dark forces are trying to get Melinda on their side."

"So what can we do about it?" Jim asked.

"Well," Rick explained, "If Melinda keeps using her goodness to fight the evil then eventually the evil might give up and find someone else to bother."

Jim shook his head, "I don't think Mel's in any condition to fight it anymore. They've broken her down. She's right where they want her."

"Then we have to find somebody who can fight it for her. Somebody on the inside." Rick said.

Jim thought for a moment. Then, it came to him. "Her mom." he said. "Her mom has the gift. If she can see the spirit that's doing this, maybe we have a chance."

"Whoa, whoa… wait a minute." Rick said. "I thought her mom refused to do this spirit stuff."

"She'll do it to save her daughter." said Jim, "I gotta go."

Jim hung up the phone. Why hadn't he thought of it before? If Mel's mother could get rid of the spirit, then Mel would be okay. It made sense. He dialed her number and waited; the phone continued to ring. Finally, her voicemail picked up. Jim left an urgent message.

"Mrs. Gordon, this is Jim. I need you to call me back as soon as possible. It's important."

He tried her other phone but there was still no answer. After leaving messages on both, he knew he'd have to wait. He hoped that he'd hear back from her soon. He put his phone in his pocket and went upstairs to be with Mel.

* * *

That evening came, and Jim had yet to hear back from Mrs. Gordon. Melinda had slept most of the day; she only got out of bed at 5:00 PM when Jim woke her up. She showered, and joined Jim in the living room. She was wearing white cotton yoga pants and a black tank top; her face looked ghastly pale against the dark hues of her hair and her shirt. She sat beside Jim on the couch, and he studied her; she looked thinner than usual. She'd barely eaten anything in four days, only a couple bites of food here and there. Her cheeks looked a bit sunken and her eyes looked bruised from the shadows beneath them. She cuddled up against him, resting her head on his arm. He held her against him.

"What sounds good for dinner?" Jim asked.

"Hmm…" Melinda mumbled, "I'm not really hungry."

"You have to eat." Jim said, "You've eaten next to nothing the past few days. You're gonna make yourself sick."

"Jim…" Mel griped.

"Uh-uh." Jim shook his head, getting to his feet. "You're eating. Tell me what you want or else I'll decide for you."

Mel thought for a moment. "Pizza would be fine." she said.

"Great." Jim said, smiling. "Let me guess: Anchovies, pineapple, and anything else that can destroy an otherwise good pizza."

Mel actually smiled for the first time in days. "You know me too well." She said.

"I'll go order." Jim said, going into the kitchen.

Mel stayed on the couch. _I guess I am kind of hungry after all…_ She thought, wrapping a blanket around her shoulders. It seemed like the temperature had suddenly dropped in the room. Melinda shivered, and pulled the blanket up to her chin. Then, she had a vision.

_She was standing on a long concrete bridge. It was dark, and beneath the bridge there was only an endless black abyss. The wind blew fiercely, causing her hair and clothes to flow about. She stepped to the edge and looked out… She felt a presence behind her and she turned to see the cloaked figure standing there. She began to cry. "Leave me alone!" she yelled. The spirit only looked at her. She wanted to run away, but there was nowhere to go. The spirit spoke, "It's almost time." Melinda's breathing grew heavy. "No. Leave me alone." she said again, with less conviction than before._

Jim ordered the pizza and returned to the living room.

"Pizza will be here in 30 minutes." He said. He stopped for a second; Melinda was standing in front of the couch. "Mel?' He asked. He walked around the couch until he was directly in front of her. She was breathing heavily and staring straight ahead; her eyes looked dark and distant. He knew from that look that she was having some sort of vision.

"Mel, can you hear me?" he asked, but he got no reaction.

_The spirit moved closer to Melinda. She stepped back until she could go no further; she was standing on the ledge. "This is your destiny" the spirit said. "You must accept it." Melinda felt strange. She suddenly realized that she was beginning to fall backwards. Before she knew it, she was plunging into the darkness below._

"No!" Melinda shrieked, her knees giving out. Jim caught her and sat her down on the couch.

"It's okay." Jim said. "You're safe." He held her elbows as she leaned over, trying to catch her breath. After a few seconds, she sat up and looked at Jim, her eyes wide with terror.

"What did you see?" Jim asked.

Melinda pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes in an attempt to rid herself of the vision. Jim rested his hand on her knee, waiting patiently for her to tell him what she had seen. Bringing her hands to rest in her lap, she looked back at Jim.

"I was standing on a bridge." she said softly. "The spirit came up behind me… he told me it's almost time. And then I fell, and there was just darkness all around."

Jim let out a long breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Almost time?" he asked, feeling uneasy.

Melinda nodded. Jim pulled her into his arms, and she rested her chin on his shoulder. "We've got to stop this." Jim whispered.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Here's chapter 3, as promised! I should warn you, this chapter may be a bit disturbing to some as it contains themes of suicide. If that sort of thing might bother you, you may want to proceed with caution. That being said, enjoy! Also, it may be a few days before I can post chapter 4... I'm taking summer school and I have a math test this week that I need to study for, so I won't have as much time to devote to writing. I'll try to update ASAP.**

* * *

The pizza arrived and Jim and Melinda sat down to eat. Melinda ate two slices, a vast improvement compared to her eating habits over the previous days. After the meal, they stayed in the kitchen and discussed what they should do about the spirit's warnings.

"This is serious, Mel. We need to find a way to beat this spirit, and we need to do it soon." Jim said. "I'm not going to risk having this thing hurt you any more than it already has."

"It's too strong." Melinda said dejectedly. "I don't think I can do it."

"Then we need to find someone who can."

Melinda skeptically looked at Jim. "Who?" she asked.

Jim realized she wouldn't like the idea, but it was their only option. "Your mom." he told her.

With an expression on her face that fell somewhere between shock and anger, Mel stood up and walked over to the window. She peered outside, thinking about Jim's idea. _I can't believe he would even suggest that. He knows that my mother and I don't get along at all when it comes to ghost business._

Jim took in her reaction. "Just think about it." he said from the table. "If your mom can see this spirit, maybe she can help you."

"Help me what?" Mel asked, still looking outside. "Help me pretend that it doesn't exist? Because as far as the spirit world is concerned, that's the only thing my mother is good at: denying that it's there."

Jim stood up and walked over to Mel, placing his arms around her waist. "Just give her a chance. It might be your only way out of this."

"That's what I'm afraid of." Melinda said faintly.

Jim leaned in and kissed her tenderly. Looking her in the eyes he asked, "Will you at least call her? Maybe tell her what's going on?"

Melinda let out an exasperated sigh. "Ok." she said. "Tomorrow."

Jim had been hoping she'd call her sooner, but he decided he'd have to take what he could get. After doing some cleaning in the kitchen, he suggested to Mel that they watch a movie in bed. She agreed, although she knew she'd probably fall asleep about twenty minutes into it.

Melinda and Jim walked upstairs to the bedroom. Jim went straight to the DVD rack to pick out a movie while Melinda sat down on the bed. Mel realized that she had a pretty bad headache coming on; she began rubbing her temples to ease the throbbing.

"So… What are you in the mood to watch?" Jim asked. He looked back at Mel and saw that she was in pain. "What's wrong?" he said.

"I have a really bad headache again." she told him. "What'd you do with the Advil?"

"It's in the medicine cabinet." He said. "You want me to get it for you?"

"No, I can get it." Melinda said, and she got up and walked to the bathroom. Opening the medicine cabinet, she looked around. There were various prescriptions on the shelf: Diazepam from when Jim hurt his back rescuing someone from a fire, Ambien from when Melinda had trouble sleeping, Vicodin left over from after she had suffered a concussion. Behind the containers she found the Advil. She took two with a glass of water and returned to the bedroom. Jim was still browsing through their movie collection.

"How does 'Wedding Crashers' sound?" Jim asked, hearing her re-enter the room.

"Sounds fine." Melinda said, yawning. "I doubt I'll last very long, though."

Jim put in the movie and they both laid down in bed. As she had predicted, Mel fell asleep after twenty minutes of the film. Jim was out after an hour. The DVD continued to play as they slept.

* * *

At about one in the morning Melinda started to dream, although this dream was a bit different from the others. It was more like an out-of-body experience than a vision.

_She was in her house, in the bedroom; she stood at the foot of the bed watching herself sleep. The room was quiet and cold. Then, the spirit appeared. It stood next to her sleeping form, whispering in her ear, "It's time. Soon this will all be over. Soon you will be mine." She watched from a distance as she sat up and got out of bed. The spirit took her by the hand, putting her in a trance. Melinda tried to speak, tried to warn her other self and break the spell, but no sound came out. She watched as the spirit led her out of the room. She followed them to the bathroom and stood in the doorway. She watched herself open the medicine cabinet and take out the three prescription bottles she had noticed earlier. As she did this, the spirit stood behind her, laughing evilly. She saw herself pour the Diazepam into her hand and then swallow the handful of pills. She tried to stop herself, but she was frozen; there was nothing she could do. Next came the Vicodin, and then the Ambien. She watched herself choking the pills down, gagging as she tried to swallow several pills at a time. Finished, she still held a bottle of pills in one hand and an empty glass in the other. The spirit then came to her in the doorway. "It's done." He said, disappearing. There was a flash of light, and her dream jumped ahead._

_She was standing in the aisle at a funeral home. There were people all around; people she knew; talking, crying. She walked down the aisle towards the casket. Once she was closer, she realized that she was looking down at herself. Horrified, she was about to run away when she saw Jim. He was standing in front of the casket, beside her mother. He was crying. Placing a white rose atop the casket, she heard him whispering through his tears: "I'm so sorry, Mel. I'm sorry I couldn't save you. I'm sorry…." He fell to one knee, breaking down. Her mother put a hand on his shoulder._

* * *

Melinda woke up. Disoriented for a moment, she found that she was staring at herself in the mirror instead of laying in bed. She looked down at her hands; in one she held a bottle of pills and in the other an empty glass. Shaking, she took a step back.

"No." she said with terror. "This can't be happening."

She was unsure of how long she'd been dreaming. _It wasn't just a dream. _She thought. _I'm really going to die._ She could already feel the pills taking effect. All at once she felt unbearably dizzy and weak. She collapsed to the floor, shattering the glass and spilling the pills around her.

* * *

Jim awoke with a start. The TV was still on, playing the menu of "Wedding Crashers" in a loop. He had heard a noise; it sounded like a dull thud accompanied by breaking glass. Turning his head, he saw that Mel was no longer in bed with him. With a horrible feeling washing over him, he sprung out of bed and hurried down the hall. He saw light pouring through the crack beneath the bathroom door. He tried to turn the doorknob, but it was locked. Pounding on the wood, he began shouting.

"Mel? Mel, open up." He heard no movement behind the door and he was starting to panic. "Melinda, open the door or I'm breaking it in." He yelled frantically.

* * *

Melinda was fighting to stay conscious. She heard Jim shouting to her and pounding on the door, but she didn't have the strength to call out to him. She felt numb and unable to move. With tears trailing down her face, she could only pray. _Please help me._

* * *

Jim wasn't going to waste anymore time. He knew something was terribly wrong and he had to get in there. Taking a few steps back, he threw all of his weight against the door. It cracked and flew open, but he wasn't quite prepared for what he saw.

Melinda was laying on the floor. There were shards from the broken glass around her, and pills were everywhere. Jim fell to his knees beside her.

"No…. No! Mel!" he said, spotting the empty bottle a few inches from her hand and the others on the sink. He lightly slapped her face to make her more alert. As she looked up at him through her increasingly blurring vision, she noticed a hint of tears in his eyes.

"Jim…" she whispered weakly.

Jim put a hand to her cheek while he checked the pulse in her wrist with the other. "Mel," he said, his voice breaking. "What did you do?"

Melinda's breathing was becoming shallow and labored. She tried to calm herself, although she didn't succeed. "I'm sorry," she cried to Jim. "I'm so sorry…"

Jim glanced around, searching for something. He'd never been so scared in his life. By the grace of God, he spotted his cell phone sitting on the shelf above the toilet. Straining his arm, not wanting to leave Mel's side, he grabbed it and dialed 911. He rattled off some information to the dispatcher, and quickly hung up the phone when he was finished. Melinda was starting to lose consciousness.

"Mel! Stay with me…" Jim begged. A tear fell down his face. He gently shook her, and her eyes opened a bit. "Stay with me." he whispered once again.

Melinda tried to speak, although her voice was nearly inaudible. Jim put his ear to her lips. "He did this…" she breathed. With her remaining strength, she lightly squeezed Jim's hand. "I don't want to die." She whispered, as her eyes slipped shut.

"Mel?" Jim said, trying to wake her. He patted her cheek a few times, becoming desperate. "Mel!" He said more loudly. She wouldn't stir. Grasping her wrist with two fingers and putting his ear to her lips again, he searched for any sign of life. He found nothing; she was slipping away from him.

"No!" Jim cried. He tilted her head back a bit and breathed into her. He started chest compressions. "Don't leave me." he pleaded as he tried to revive her, his voice wavering. "Please, Mel…. Come back to me."

Jim continued through two cycles, tears flowing down his face as he worked. Finally, he got a response. Mel began to cough and gasp for air. Jim gently lifted her; he cradled her in his arms. She was only half-conscious, but she was breathing again.

"You're gonna be okay…" he said, both to Melinda and to himself. He heard the sirens approaching, so he carried Melinda downstairs. Still cradling her in his arms, he opened the front door. The ambulance was pulling into the driveway.

Jim's friends Bobby and Steve were working; they came rushing out of the back with a gurney and some equipment.

"Jim!" Bobby said, hurrying up the front walk with the gurney. "What's going on."

Jim was a bit calmer, though his voice was still shaky with fear. Laying Melinda on the gurney, he told them the situation as best he could.

"She took a bunch of pills… Uh, Diazepam, I think, and Ambien. I'm not sure what else. They're upstairs. I found her on the bathroom floor. Her heart stopped for about a minute, but I brought her back."

Bobby and Steve hooked her up to some monitors and started her on oxygen.

"Pulse is 48," Bobby said, "Respiration is low."

"Can you get the rest of those pills?" Steve asked Jim. "The docs will probably need them."

Jim nodded and ran upstairs. He couldn't believe this was happening. He should have been paying more attention. He could have stopped her. He grabbed all three containers, ran into the bedroom to grab a jacket and shoes, and ran back downstairs as they were loading her into the back of the ambulance. Still barefoot, wearing only gray flannel pants and a white t-shirt, his hands full, he ran out the front door. He gave the pills to Steve, dumped his shoes and coat on the floor of the ambulance, and ran back to close and lock the front door. Then they were on their way to the hospital.

* * *

Melinda heard voices, although they sounded very far-off. She opened her eyes. Everything she saw was blurry. All she could make out was Jim standing over her. His eyes were filled with worry and she could vaguely hear him speaking to her.

Jim watched Melinda closely as they raced to the hospital. For a minute she opened her eyes, though they were glassy and unfocused. Jim held her hand and tried to comfort her.

"Hang on, Mel." he said. "We're almost there. Just try to stay awake…" He watched her eyes drift shut again, and he blinked back a new wave of tears.

* * *

_Melinda found herself in a dark place. She was half-expecting to see the light in the distance, but all stayed in darkness. As her eyes adjusted, she made out a shadowy figure standing before her. She sensed that it was the same spirit from her dreams. She backed away. "No." she said. "You did this." The spirit moved closer, laughing. "I told you that you'd be mine." Melinda thought for a moment… The voice sounded different now than it had in her dreams; it was louder, more discernable. She'd heard that voice before somewhere else… Closing her eyes, she was struck by a memory._

"_It's funny how memories can come rushing back…" The voice said. "I'm sorry Melinda, but the thing is, I just can't let you live now."_

_Melinda opened her eyes. Growing angry and yet even more fearful, she said through clenched teeth: "Tom Gordon."_

_The spirit took a few steps closer, and finally his face could be seen. It was the man who had posed as her father for nine years before abandoning her. The man who returned to her life only to try to kill her. And now he was back, trying to claim her again from beyond the grave._

* * *

Jim sat in the waiting room of the hospital, his head in his hands. Melinda had been unconscious when they brought her in and now the doctors were working on her. Realizing he would have to tell her mother, he dug his cell phone out of his pocket. It was three in the morning, she'd probably be asleep. He dialed her number and waited.

"Hello?" Beth Gordon answered drowsily.

"Beth, it's Jim."

"Jim?" she asked. "I got your message, I was going to call you in the morning. What's going on?"

Jim sighed. "Um… I'm at Mercy Hospital. I'm gonna need you to get down here as soon as you can."

Beth was now fully awake. Sitting up in bed, she nervously asked, "What happened? Is Melinda okay?"

Jim pinched the bridge of his nose, flinching against the news he was about to tell her. "She overdosed on muscle relaxers and sleeping pills." He said. "I can't really explain it over the phone; I just need you to be here."

Beth responded tearfully, "I'm on my way."

Hanging up the phone, Jim continued to wait.

* * *

_Tom Gordon stood before Melinda, grinning maliciously "I realize the last time we saw each other it ended on a slightly bad note." he said. Melinda looked him in the eye with hatred evident on her face. "You tried to kill me." She stated. Tom nodded thoughtfully, "You're right… I did. And now you're here. I guess it all worked out." Melinda shook her head. "No. You can't do this, it's not my time." He stepped closer, whispering in her ear, "But it is your time. You made sure of that when you killed yourself." She shuddered at the feel of his breath against her face. "I didn't kill myself. You did something to me; but I'm not dead." Tom stepped away and continued to move backwards. "You will be." he said, "And then it will be time for you to join us." Melinda watched as he disappeared into the darkness._

* * *

Only five minutes had passed since he got off the phone with Mrs. Gordon, but to Jim, it felt like an eternity. A doctor walked through the ICU doors and approached Jim.

"Mr. Clancy?" The doctor called. Jim stood up anxiously. "My name is Dr. Wesley" he said, shaking Jim's hand. "We've got Melinda stabilized. We had to pump her stomach to remove the pills, and we're running some more tests to determine if there is any significant internal damage. We've also administered an intravenous drip to flush out the toxins in her bloodstream. Right now she's still unconscious, but provided we don't run into anymore problems, she should come out of it alright."

Jim nodded. "Okay. That's good." he said quietly. "Can I see her?"

The doctor looked at Jim sympathetically. "Of course. There's just one more thing. You realize that due to the circumstances of Melinda's admittance, she's going to have to undergo a psychiatric evaluation before we can even consider discharging her?"

Jim looked down at his feet, shaking his head slightly. "Doctor? I don't really know how to explain this, but I know that Melinda didn't take those pills intentionally. She wasn't trying to… kill herself…"

The doctor looked unconvinced. "How could she 'accidentally' swallow all those pills, Mr. Clancy?"

"I know it sounds strange," Jim said, looking at the doctor determinedly, "But lately she's been sleepwalking a lot. I find her in another room, moving around, except she's asleep. I think that she took the pills unconsciously. The last thing she said to me before passing out was 'I don't want to die.' You may not believe me, but I know my wife. She wouldn't do this."

The doctor nodded. "Okay. Well, we'll be able to determine that once she's awake. Come on," he said, leading Jim into the ICU, "her room is right this way."

Jim entered the room, his heart aching at the sight before him. Melinda was hooked up to a bunch of monitors and tubes; she looked so fragile and vulnerable. He slowly walked to her bedside and sat in the chair that had been placed there for him. He almost forgot the doctor was still there.

"You can stay as long as you like," Dr. Wesley said, "just press the nurse call button if you need anything or if you see any changes."

Jim nodded as he took Mel's hand and brought it to his lips. He heard the doctor leave the room. Her hand felt so cold against his. He observed her monitors, noting that her heart rate was still a bit low, and they were still delivering a small amount of oxygen to her through a tube in her nose. He leaned down and rested his head on her chest. He needed to feel her heartbeat; it comforted him to hear the rhythm of the heart that belonged to him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: I apologize for taking so long to update this time. I also apologize for this chapter being a bit shorter than the others. I took a break for a few days and then came down with a bad case of writer's block. But I'm back on track now. Enjoy! Keep letting me know what you think!**

* * *

_Melinda found herself alone, surrounded by nothing but an endless black void. She was frightened; but then she heard something. It was low and distant, but she recognized it as Jim's voice. Closing her eyes, she tried to focus on the sound._

* * *

Jim was holding Mel's hand and listening to the slow but steady beating of her heart when he thought he felt a subtle movement in her fingers. He slowly sat up and looked at her.

"Mel." He said. "Can you hear me?" Smoothing her hair, he continued to talk to her. "Please wake up. I need you, Mel. Please… Wake up."

Melinda's eyes began to flutter open; she focused on the ceiling above. Then, she weakly turned her head to look at Jim.

"Hey." he said, smiling.

"Hi." she whispered.

Jim kissed her on the head and, holding her hand, said, "Do you have any idea how much you scared me?"

Tears welled up in Mel's eyes. "I'm sorry." she said hoarsely. "Jim, I wasn't trying to…"

He interrupted her. "I know." he told her. "I know that you would never do that. Whatever happened, I'm just so glad you're alright."

Melinda was crying. Jim wiped away her tears and kissed her. "It's okay." he whispered.

"It was my father." She said abruptly. "I mean… Tom Gordon."

Jim took a moment to register what she had said. "What?" he asked her. "How?"

"I don't know." She said. "But he's the spirit that's been haunting my dreams; he's the one that…. did this… to me. And I'm pretty sure it's not over."

"Wait a minute, slow down…" Jim said. "What do you mean it's not over? What happened?"

Melinda took a deep breath and let it out. "He came to me… in my sleep. It seemed like a dream, only it wasn't." She paused for a moment, and then began to break down. "I watched myself take the pills. I couldn't do anything about it. It's as if I was possessed… As if he was controlling me, and I just stood there and watched it all." Sobbing, Mel sat up and covered her face with her hands. Jim moved to the edge of the hospital bed; he sat beside her and pulled her close into his embrace.

"It's okay. I'm not going to let anything else happen… I promise. Whatever it takes, I'm gonna keep you safe." Jim said.

"I don't know if you can…" She cried.

Melinda's heart monitor started beeping rapidly. Jim turned to look at it and then turned back to look at her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Mel, I need you to calm down, your heart is racing. Lay back." Jim helped her lay back down; he held her hand tightly as he spoke to her in a soothing voice. "Take some deep breaths, okay? Just slow it down…"

Mel wiped the tears from her face and sighed deeply. She was beginning to feel better and her heart rate was slowing. Then, a nurse burst through the door followed by Beth Gordon.

"What's going on in here?" The nurse asked, hurrying to Melinda's side. Beth stopped a few feet away from the bed and looked at her daughter.

Jim explained, "She woke up and started to panic; we've got it under control now."

The nurse glanced at the heart monitor, which was nearly back to normal. Ignoring Jim, she spoke to Melinda. "Miss Gordon, are you alright?"

Melinda nodded. "I'm okay."

"I'm going to let the doctor know you're awake." The nurse said, leaving the room.

"So who wants to tell me what happened here?" Beth said nervously.

Jim looked at Mel, and then looked back at Beth. "Um… Mel is being haunted… By your ex-husband." He stated. "He made her do this. He's trying to hurt her, Beth… We really need to figure out a way to stop him. We need your help."

Beth walked shakily to the chair beside Melinda's bed and sat down. "I don't understand…" She said. "How long has this been going on? How did this happen? It just doesn't make any sense."

"No. It makes perfect sense." Melinda said. "He wanted me dead while he was alive. Why would that change now?"

Beth looked her daughter in the eye. "Melinda. How could he 'make you' overdose? How could you let that happen?"

Mel fought back the anger that was threatening to boil over. Jim put him arm around her protectively and gave her mother a warning glance.

"You think that I 'let' this happen?" Mel said.

"I'm just trying to understand." Beth told her.

"Well let me help you understand." Melinda said irately. "I just spent a week thinking I was having a nervous breakdown. Then, I watched myself attempt suicide. And I couldn't move, I couldn't speak… There was absolutely nothing I could do to stop it. I thought I had died, but as it turns out I still have that to look forward to, as Tom so lovingly promised."

Jim interjected, "Mel... What did he tell you?"

Melinda closed her eyes and thought back. "I told him…" She said slowly, "that it wasn't my time; that I wasn't dead." She looked at Jim. "And he told me… that I will be. He said that I must join them, whatever that means."

"Oh God." Beth said.

"There's got to be something we can do." Jim said, looking at Beth. "Or something **you** can do to stop him."

Beth shook her head. "I can't see him." She said softly. "How am I supposed to stop him?"

"I don't know." Jim said, and he looked at Melinda and caressed her cheek. "All I know is that I can't lose you again. I can't."

* * *

Dr. Wesley looked over Melinda and decided that she could be discharged in a day, after some observation. Jim and Beth refused to leave her alone. They managed to convince the psychiatrist that Mel had taken the pills while sleepwalking; that it was not intentional, and that she was no danger to herself or anyone else. The day seemed to go on forever, but soon enough it was the next morning and Melinda could go home.

Beth decided to stay with Jim and Melinda for a while. She was worried about her daughter, and although she would never admit it, she had a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach. From the moment she walked into Melinda's hospital room she felt an air of darkness looming around her. Something significant was happening in the spirit world; she could sense it. Her daughter was in danger, and she wasn't going to leave until she could be sure it was safe again.

* * *

Melinda and Beth sat side by side on the couch. Mel was leaning against the arm, hugging her knees to her chest as she stared vacantly towards the fireplace. Beth simply sat with her feet planted on the floor, slightly hunched over with her hands in her lap; her expression matched that of her daughter.

* * *

Jim was in the kitchen making tea for Melinda and Beth. While he waited for the water to heat up he paced around, thinking about the disaster that was unfolding before him. When he had found Mel in the bathroom that night, it was the most terrifying moment of his life. Never had he felt so helpless, so lost; and now all he could do is wait for the next storm to hit. He knew it wasn't over, and the fear of something worse coming was crippling him. The screaming kettle startled him out of these thoughts. He poured the water into two mugs, dropped in the teabags, and proceeded to the living room with the beverages.

Jim crossed the room to where Mel and Beth sat, and he noticed their identical gazes. He set the cups down on the coffee table in front of them and sat down in the armchair that faced the couch. The women didn't seem to notice he was there.

"What's going on?" Jim said warily, looking in the direction that they were staring, and then back at them. "Is something here?"

Melinda snapped back to reality, focusing on Jim and then glancing at her mother who was still staring straight ahead.

"No." Beth said. "Nothing's here."

Jim looked at Mel, his face expressing his confusion. Melinda reached for her mom's hand. "You feel it too, don't you?" she asked, not expecting an honest answer.

"Yes." Beth said, turning to face Melinda. "What does it mean?"

Mel sighed. Her eyes were filled with sadness and fear. She lightly shrugged. "I don't know." She whispered. "But it's what I've been feeling all week."

Beth picked up the cup of tea and sipped from it. She couldn't talk about this right now. She just didn't know what to do. Jim scooted his chair so it was directly beside the couch. He held out his hand and Melinda took it. Their eyes met, and Jim's heart broke at the sadness and despair that was written on his wife's face. He kissed her hand and tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear. She looked down at the ground; he could tell she was struggling to keep from crying.

Beth broke the silence. "If you two don't mind, I think I'm going to lie down for a bit. I really didn't sleep last night, and I'm exhausted."

Mel spoke softly without looking up. "Sure, Mom. Goodnight."

"Sleep well." Jim said, as Beth walked away towards the guest room.

Jim joined Melinda on the couch. He pulled her towards him and leaned back until they were both laying down. Mel's head rested on Jim's chest, and his arms wrapped around her protectively. No words needed to be spoken; the feeling of safety Melinda got from Jim's touch was enough.

* * *

Beth laid in bed, succumbing to the exhaustion that the past couple of days had brought. She hoped that sleep would prove to be an escape, but as soon as she dozed off she began to dream.

_She was standing in an endless garden of oleanders and lilacs. The sky was purple and cloudless and the air was warm. She noticed the silhouette of someone approaching her, and as the person drew closer she recognized her as her mother, Mary Ann. "Mom?" Beth asked. Mary Ann smiled as she stood before her daughter. "Hello, dear." She said. "What's happening?" Beth said. "She is facing a trial more difficult than any she's faced before." Mary Ann told her. "She needs you more than ever." Beth began to cry. "I can't help her." she said. "I don't know what to do." Mary Ann took her daughters hand. "Just be there." she soothed. "We'll handle the rest." Beth looked at her mother with confusion. "We?" She asked. "Melinda will be protected." Mary Ann said. "Tell her not to be afraid." She let go of her daughters hand and began to walk away. "Wait." Beth cried out. "Mom…" Mary Ann began to fade into the distance._

* * *

Melinda and Jim were asleep on the couch when they were awakened by the doorbell. Mel lifted her head to look towards the front door, and Jim shifted beneath her and moved to get up. He walked to the door and opened it to find Delia standing there, a look of panic across her face.

"Jim." Delia said anxiously as she stepped into the house. "Tim just told me what happened. Is Melinda here? Is she alright?"

Jim put his hands on Delia's shoulders to calm her down. "Delia, it's alright…"

Melinda jumped up from the couch and approached Jim and Delia. Delia pushed past Jim and threw her arms around Mel, hugging her tightly.

"Oh my God." Delia said, her voice breaking. "What happened? Tim said you were rushed to the hospital two nights ago. I haven't heard from you. I was so scared…"

Melinda hugged Delia back. "I'm okay." She said. "I'm sorry I haven't called you, things have just been really crazy."

Delia broke from the hug to look Mel in the eyes. "Melinda, please tell me you didn't…"

Mel interrupted. "Whatever Tim told you, I assure you, it's not what you think."

"Then what happened?" Delia asked.

Melinda shook her head. "I don't think you want to know."

"Wait…" Delia said. "Is this ghost-related?"

Melinda nodded.

"Well…" Delia continued. "What are you gonna do? What if this thing tries to hurt you again?"

"We're working on it." Mel told her. "And I'm prepared for whatever happens next."


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: FINALLY! The last chapter! I hope you all enjoy it, and aren't disappointed by the ending. Your feedback is more than welcome. Thanks for reading!**

* * *

Melinda and Jim gave Delia a summary of what had been happening the past week. Delia listened patiently and offered what little advice she could; and after a while, she returned to the store and Jim and Mel continued to talk.

Mel sat cross-legged on the couch, lightly leaning against Jim who sat behind her rubbing her shoulders.

"So now what?" Jim asked. "Are we just supposed to wait around until he strikes again? Because I can't do that, Mel. It's too much of a risk."

"Well he's only appeared to me in dreams or visions." Mel said. "I don't know if I can even see him when I'm awake. It makes me think I need to be asleep before I can talk to him again."

"But then he's getting you alone." Jim told her. "That's exactly what he wants. He's trying to get you where no one can help you."

Melinda said nothing. Jim moved so he was facing her and gently lifted her chin so she was looking at him. "I'm sorry. I just… I need to do something. I can't stand being helpless like this." Jim's eyes were pleading. "Please tell me there's something I can do." He said softly.

Melinda touched his cheek and leaned in to kiss him. He put his arms around her and pulled her closer. She whispered in his ear. "There is something you can do… And you're already doing it. Just be with me through this."

* * *

Beth awoke an hour later and found Melinda and Jim in the kitchen, sitting side by side at the table. She took a seat across from Mel.

"Hi, Mom." Mel said, sounding very tired. "How was your nap?"

"It was fine." Beth said shortly.

Jim and Mel exchanged a look. "What's wrong?" Melinda asked.

Beth thought for a moment before she spoke. "Nothing. It's nothing." she said, getting to her feet. "I'm going to make some tea, do either of you want any?"

"No thank you." Mel replied. She observed her mom as she filled the kettle with water and set it on the stovetop. Then, she looked at Jim. As if he knew what she was thinking, he spoke for both of them.

"Beth, did you see something? Because if you did and it might help us in this, we need to know." He said.

Beth turned around and locked eyes with Jim, and then with her daughter. Her face softened. She knew she couldn't keep it from her. "I had a dream." She said.

"And?" Melinda asked.

"I saw your grandmother." Beth whispered.

Mel's face took on a look of nostalgia. She felt tears pricking at her eyes as she listened to her mother describe the dream she had.

"She told me that this trial is more difficult than any you've ever faced, but that you will be protected." Beth continued. "She said not to be afraid."

Melinda didn't know what to say. Jim had his arm around her and she leaned into him. _I don't want to be afraid._ She thought._ I know I have people looking out for me… I just don't know if it's going to be enough._

* * *

Melinda and Jim were in bed by midnight, although neither one could sleep. Melinda was afraid of having another near-fatal vision, and Jim was afraid that if he slept he wouldn't be able to protect her from the evil that was lurking. They laid on their sides, facing each other in the dark, and held one another.

"What are you thinking?" Jim finally asked, noticing the distant look in Mel's eyes.

"I'm thinking…." she said softly "that I feel really strange."

Jim's eyes filled with concern and his brow furrowed. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Mel said. "It's just… I'm not really afraid anymore. And I'm not sure what that means. I have this distinct feeling that the end is near… But I'm not afraid."

Jim briefly tightened his hold on her. "Your mom said that in her dream, your grandmother said you'd be protected. Doesn't that mean that you'll be okay?" he asked hopefully.

Melinda shrugged. Jim ran his fingers through her hair, moving it away from her face, and he kissed her softly on the lips. After breaking from the kiss, they stayed close, their foreheads touching.

"Jim." Mel whispered. "Whatever happens, I want you to know…"

"No." Jim interrupted, shaking his head. "Mel, don't talk like that."

"Please." She persisted. "I want you to know that I love you... More than I think you even know. And I never wanted to drag you into all of this."

"Mel…" He interjected softly. She put her finger to his lips, quieting him.

"You've done so much for me. You've made a tremendous difference in my life. And if something were to happen to me, I'd want you to know that you did everything you could. There's only so much you can do." She said.

Jim's eyes were glassy with unshed tears. He drew in a ragged breath, and kissed Melinda once more before letting it out. Mel shifted and moved into him, tucking her head against his neck. He buried his face in her hair and allowed himself to silently cry.

* * *

Before Melinda was even aware that she had fallen asleep, she found herself in a prophetic dream.

_There was blinding white light all around. She shielded her eyes from the brightness and squinted in an attempt to make out what was before her. She saw a large group of hazy shadows surrounding her. She couldn't tell how many there were, but they were everywhere and they were moving closer; she had nowhere to run. She heard a low voice resonating from the crowd. "When the forgotten return, death will be twice closer." The shadows continued to move towards her until she felt herself sinking to the ground._

* * *

Melinda gasped as she awoke. She sat up quickly and looked around to make sure that it was all just a dream. She felt a hand on her back, and jumped slightly.

"Honey, are you alright?" Jim said groggily.

"Yeah." Melinda breathed, as she turned towards him.

Jim looked at her cautiously. "Did you see him?"

Mel shook her head. "No. This one was different. It was trying to tell me something."

"What?" Jim asked.

Melinda repeated the message from her dream and Jim listened, his eyes growing wide. "Has anyone you'd forgotten returned?"

"No." Mel said with exasperation. "Unless it means Tom… but he's not exactly someone I'd forgotten."

Jim placed his hands around Mel's waist and pulled her down beside him. "You're not leaving me." he whispered almost incoherently as he was falling back asleep. "If anyone wants to get to you, they're going to have to get through me first."

* * *

The rain was pouring down the next morning. The sky was dark and a loud crash of thunder jolted Jim from his sleep. He jumped, and then realized that Melinda was lying halfway on top of him with her arm draped across his chest. He remained still so he wouldn't wake her; he watched her sleep, in awe of her beauty. Her long dark brown hair was fanned out across the pillow and onto his shoulder. She looked so much like an angel; his heart felt as if it could burst from the sudden overwhelming urge to carry her out of the house and away from all that threatened her. He knew, though, that the darkness would only follow them wherever they go. He found himself wishing that he could stay in this untainted moment forever.

Jim watched Melinda sleep for another hour. He didn't want to wake her and he refused to leave her side even for a second, so he didn't move until she awoke. He heard her let out a soft groan and her eyes fluttered open. He placed his hand on top of hers, which was set above his heart, and she looked towards him.

"Morning." She said.

"Morning." He responded with a smile.

Mel stretched her legs out and yawned. "Have you been up for a while?" She asked.

Jim shrugged.

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

Jim gave her hand a squeeze. "You looked too peaceful. I didn't want to disturb you."

Mel leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. She then rolled onto her back and looked towards the window. Dark gray clouds blanketed the sky, and they were lit up by sporadic flashes of lightning. It crossed her mind that the weather may be an omen of what the day would have in store for her. She suddenly got chills. Shivering, she pulled the blanket up to her chin.

Jim didn't need to ask her what was wrong. He knew he was thinking the same thing as she was. Giving her a warm hug, he kissed her head. "Why don't we go downstairs?" He suggested. Melinda simply nodded.

* * *

That afternoon Melinda and Jim sat in the living room with Beth. An air of melancholy hung over them. It was still storming outside, and there wasn't much the three of them could do but wait for the worst. Sitting on the couch, Jim noticed that it had grown unusually cold. He glanced at Melinda and Beth who both seemed to feel it too.

"I think we need to turn on the heat." Jim said, getting to his feet. He walked into the hall to adjust the thermostat. As he left, a dark foggy orb began to develop in front of the couch. Melinda was staring at the ground and didn't notice, but Beth sat up straighter and leaned forward as a figure began to develop. Before them stood Tom Gordon. He wore black pants and an olive green collared shirt; he smirked evilly at Beth.

"Tom." Beth whispered fearfully.

Melinda looked up and jumped to her feet. She tried to back away, but she stumbled and fell to the floor. Tom let out a sinister chuckle, and moved toward Melinda.

"Tom, leave her alone!" Beth shouted.

Mel scrambled backwards on the floor; she was moving towards the fireplace in hopes that she could come up with some kind of weapon against him. Jim heard the commotion and came running frantically back into the room. Tom raised a hand and Jim was stopped abruptly and thrown to the ground as if he had run into a wall.

Melinda found herself cursing her plan, as she was now trapped between Tom and the wall. He reached down and grabbed her roughly around the neck, lifting her effortlessly high above his head. She was choking; she tried to call out to Jim or her mother but all she could manage was a strangled whimper.

Jim tried to stand but he was having trouble moving. He felt like his limbs were tied down. He struggled hysterically against the forces holding him back, but it was to little avail. He was stuck. "Melinda!" He screamed. From his perspective, all that could be seen was his wife hanging midair; but he knew who was doing this to her. "Melinda! Tom, let her go!" He yelled.

Beth rushed to the spirit of her ex-husband and began punching at him wildly, although her fists only made contact with air. She began sobbing. "Please, don't take her! Take me! Not my daughter…" She cried, collapsing onto the floor in tears.

Tom did not let up in his efforts. Melinda could feel the life draining out of her. She swatted at his hands, hoping that by sheer will alone she would make contact. But she was becoming weaker by the seconds. She began to feel the darkness closing in.

Jim used every ounce of his strength and determination to move. It felt as if he was crawling through a thick syrup, but he was getting closer. He had just about reached Melinda when there was a great crash of thunder and an explosion of light. For a moment he couldn't see anything, but he realized he could move freely again. He quickly stood up as the light was starting to fade, and he saw Melinda falling. He rushed over and caught her, and he sank to the ground holding her limp body in his arms.

"Mel." He gasped, trying to catch his breath. He gently laid her on the floor and prayed that he wasn't too late.

* * *

_Melinda found herself surrounded by darkness. Tom still stood in front of her, but she was now free from his grasp. She shook her head and tears ran down her face. "No. No!" She cried. Tom stepped forward and held his hand out to her. "You're mine now." He stated. "It's over." Melinda flinched away from his touch. All of a sudden the darkness was overcome by a great flash of white light. It was almost identical to the scene from Mel's dream. Through the brightness she saw the shadows surrounding her and Tom, approaching them from all angles. As they closed in on them, Melinda sank to the ground in fear. The shadows closest to them stretched out their hands and grabbed Tom. He screamed out in pain and his spirit burst into flames; then it was gone. Mel cowered on the ground. One of the shadows held its hand out to her and she jumped away from it. Looking up at the figures, she was starting to make out their faces. With astonishment, she realized that they were all the souls she had ever crossed over in her lifetime. She gazed up at the one offering her it's hand. "Andrea?" Melinda whispered._

* * *

"Jim." Beth said tearfully. "Is she dead?"

Jim was anxiously checking Melinda's vitals. Listening for breath and watching for the rise and fall of her chest he shook his head. "She's still breathing." He said shakily. "Her pulse is rapid but strong." He stroked Mel's face lovingly and held tightly onto her hand.

"Oh God." Beth said, and started crying tears of relief.

"Mel." Jim said. "Honey, can you hear me?"

* * *

_"Get up. You're safe now." Andrea said, taking Melinda's hand and helping her to her feet. "Am I dead?" Melinda asked fearfully. Andrea smiled. "No. You're gonna be fine." Mel looked around at the countless number of faces surrounding her. "I don't understand." She said. From the crowd, her grandmother emerged. Mel blinked back a stream of tears. "Sweetheart." Her grandmother said. "There is a constant battle between light and dark in our worlds. You are the key to keeping the proper balance. Whatever side you are on is the side that will ultimately reign. The dark spirits needed you so they could have more power." _

_"Is it over? Is he gone?" Melinda asked. Her grandmother touched her shoulder. "He's gone. But there will be others. Remember to always follow your heart… It will never steer you wrong." Mel wrapped her grandmother in a hug. Then she hugged Andrea. "I miss you so much.." She cried to her friend. Andrea held onto her and patted her on the back. "I know. But you're doing great. This is how it has to be…" She said. The light started fading, and Melinda looked around in bewilderment. Andrea touched her arm. "Don't be afraid." She told her. "It's time for you to go back now." Tears streamed down Mel's face. "Wait." She begged. "There's so much I want to talk to you about." Andrea laughed. "We'll talk later. I'll be waiting." The light had almost completely faded to darkness, but Melinda heard Andrea's final message. "Tell Jim I said 'hi'!"_

* * *

The next thing Melinda was aware of was terrible pain in her throat. She coughed and felt herself being gently lifted into a sitting position.

"Mel." Jim said as he hugged her against him protectively. She breathed deeply against his shoulder, taking in the scent that was his alone and deriving comfort from it. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held onto him tightly.

"I'm okay." She said, her voice hoarse.

Jim broke the hug and put his hands on either side of her head, kissing her forehead. His voice was filled with emotion.

"I thought I'd lost you." He said, and he kissed her again. "What happened?"

"They saved me." Mel whispered thoughtfully.

Jim's eyes showed his confusion. "Who?"

"Everyone I've ever crossed over. They were all there with me." Mel said, her voice breaking. "And I saw Andrea."

Jim listened, tracing Mel's tears away with his thumb.

"She says 'hi'." Melinda told him, laughing through her tears. Jim smiled and hugged her. Melinda turned her head and looked at her mom, who appeared to be recovering from the shock of watching her daughter nearly get killed.

"Are you alright?" Melinda asked her.

"I should be asking you the same question." Beth said, smiling.

"I'm fine." Mel said. "There's nothing to worry about. He's gone now."

"Are you sure?" Jim asked.

Mel nodded. "I don't know what happened… But I do know for sure that he's gone for good."

"Thank God." Beth sighed, getting to her feet.

Jim stood and helped Melinda up, keeping his arm supportively around her waist. He touched her neck tenderly, noting that dark purple bruises were already starting to form where Tom's ghostly hand had been.

"Come on." He said caringly, "Let's get you some ice."

Melinda was led into the kitchen, Jim on one side of her, her mother on the other. Both had their arms around her, and for the first time in a week she felt happy and safe.

* * *

A few days later Melinda returned to work. Her life had regained normalcy… As much normalcy as her life would ever have, that is. She stood behind the counter, signing off on some inventory forms. Delia had run to Village Java to grab them some coffee, and when the door opened Melinda looked up expecting that she had returned. Instead, Professor Payne entered the store.

"It's funny… You're husband phone-stalks me for days demanding answers to a question I never really understood in the first place, and then I'm just left hanging, like always, wondering what the hell is going on." He rambled.

Melinda smiled. "Hello to you too." She said.

Rick walked up to the counter. "So… What **is** going on, Melinda?" He asked, suddenly noticing the bruises around her neck. "And what happened to you?" He asked more concernedly.

"It's a long story." Mel told him.

"Well I've got all day." Rick said.

"Let's just say that the battle between good and evil has been won." Melinda stated lightly.

"Oooh!" Rick said enthusiastically. "They made another Star Wars movie?"

Melinda laughed and shook her head with disgrace. _I suppose I'll have to explain it to him after all…_

* * *

That night, Melinda and Jim laid in bed together. Jim was still trying to shake the fear of losing the woman he loves. He knew it was over and that she was safe, but he couldn't stop feeling guilty, as if he could have better protected her from it all. She was sleeping soundly beside him, curled up against his body, using his shoulder as a pillow. He could feel her steady breathing against his arm, and it slowly lulled him to sleep.

_Jim was in a cold, dark place. He sensed a presence, although he knew he was alone. He called out for Melinda, hoping she could bring him back to the world he knew. Then he felt someone's breath against the back of his neck. Stiffening, he heard Tom Gordon's ominous voice. "She's mine."_

Jim's eyes shot open. He tensed for a moment until he realized that it was only a dream. Letting out a shaky breath, he looked over at Melinda. She was safe. She opened her eyes drowsily and looked at him.

"Jim?" She asked, her voice heavy with sleep. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, babe." He whispered. "I just love you so much."

"I love you too…" Mel slurred, falling back asleep.

Jim tried to reassure himself that the dream meant nothing. Melinda had said herself that Tom Gordon was gone for good; he was probably just dealing with his unconscious fears through dreams. Feeling better and knowing that they were going to be okay, he fell into a peaceful sleep with his wife securely in his arms.

* * *

**THE END!!**


End file.
